The State of Energy Psychology Research

Updated on April 4, 2016

Energy psychology (EP) modalities have been researched by more than 100 investigators in at least 7 countries. As of 2016, over 80 research studies have been published on EP modalities; out of these only one has not shown efficacy. There have been 43 RCTs published on energy psychology approaches. Four meta-analyses have also been completed. Three of these have demonstrated large effect sizes and the 4th demonstrated a moderate effect size.

The results of these studies have been published in more than 15 different peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology, the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease and the APA journals Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training and Review of General Psychology. While many important questions remain to be answered, a great deal of groundwork is in place.

The next frontier of EP research involves exploring the mechanisms of action of these modalities and investigating concurrent physiological changes using such tools as DNA microarrays (gene chips), MEGs (magnetoencephalograms), fMRI and PET scans and neurotransmitter and hormone assays.

"The discussion of mechanisms of treatment is interesting, especially since we don't really know how any psychotherapy works. Theoretically, each method has its formulation, but underlying physical mechanisms are harder to discern. And when an explanation of mechanism of functioning is discovered, it just gives rise to questions about the next lower level of analysis. Therefore it is remarkable that physiological mechanisms are already being discovered for energy psychology, even though it is younger and stranger than more established methods….” (An anonymous APA reviewer, in his review of David Feinstein’s article, "Acupoint Stimulation in Treating Psychological Disorders: Evidence of Efficacy,” published in the Review of General Psychology, 2012.)

Science of Energy Psychology Quick Facts

The scientific evidence for energy psychology, energy medicine and energy healing keeps growing. We have prepared a quick facts sheet with key information. This is a valuable summary for you to use with colleagues, clients and your own education. Download the Quick Facts sheet.

Review of the research

David Feinstein has written the most recent and comprehensive review of research in energy psychology available. It was published in November, 2012 in The Review of General Psychology, a peer-reviewed APA journal. Read the article

How the research section is organized

We’ve done our best to organize our research section to meet diverse needs. Many articles are listed in several sections. We hope you find it helpful. If you know of a study that you don’t see listed, please email John Freedom.

Organized by scientific rigor Research studies in this section are categorized in order of increasing scientific rigor (or the hierarchy of evidence). They range from informal, anecdotal reports to randomized controlled studies.Search now

Organized by specific condition/category

These studies look at the effectiveness of energy psychology in treating different conditions such as trauma, addictions, stress, depression, anxiety, athletic performanceand more. Download the PDF

Clinical case studies

These are studies of one individual in a clinical setting. They are formal reports using established pre and post intervention assessments.Download the PDF

Review articles

These articles gather all the evidence for a method or a condition. They review the studies that have been completed and draw general conclusions about the characteristics of the method. Download the PDF

Complete list of EP studies This document includes all EP studies with abstracts from 1990-2016. The document is organized in reverse chronological order. Download the PDF

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Energy medicine – selected references

Conduct your own energy psychology study

We need more research studies on the effectiveness of energy psychology, and you can help. Learn more

Learn about the suggested EFT protocol for research purposes by clicking here

Conduct a literature search

Want to conduct a more extensive literature search on energy psychology and energy medicine? Learn more

Support more energy psychology research

Many EP studies have been performed by teams of dedicated (and often unpaid) volunteers. A great need exists for money and expertise to perform the next level of research, including replication of published studies, and to pay for lab tests, gene chips, and data analysis. ACEP has provided over $75,000 for energy psychology research. ACEP only pays for direct costs and does not pay indirect costs when awarding their grants.Please help ACEP support EP research - Donate now